WoW: Raiding Manners

Or “How not to be a raid kitten”

Last in the raiding series, until something pisses me off.

Regarding my use of the term kittens for raiders: Sometimes I mean for it to be derogatory. Sometimes I mean it in a friendly way. I like kittens.

It also happens to be the second most vile expletive in the elvish language according to this web comic.

This post is directed at those that want to be Focused raiders. It’s something that Entry-level raiders should keep in mind when considering if they want to make the jump to the next level.

First and foremost:

Yes, it is a game.

Yes, it is your $15.

But your $15 is not more important than my $15 or the $15 each of the rest of your raiding team.

It being “just a game” does not give anyone the right to throw manners out the window.

It doesn’t make you a “casual” it makes you a “jerk.”

This is what I’m looking for in my raiders.

Sign up.

Most guilds use a calendar for setting up a schedule. Many of these calendars allow participants to indicate their intended participation or lack of for a raid.

This is NOT just a nice thing for the raid leader to play with. It’s how raids get planned. It’s how the raid leader can see before the raid starts that we’ll be short on healers/tanks/DPS and can start looking for a replacement before the raid so that hopefully the raid can start on time.

If you know you will be there, click accept. If you know you can’t make it, click decline. If you don’t know but you’re going to try to be there, click tentative. There is no reason for raid day to roll around and your raid leader sees “Invited” all down the list.

Use the fucking calendar.

If you’ve got an odd circumstance, tell someone, preferably an officer. Be prepared to be benched in favor of a guaranteed attendee.

Show up.

On time, preferably early. There’s nothing quite like listening to a box of mewling kittens asking over and over again where so-and-so is. People are counting on you to show up. Don’t make the kittens cry.

When a break is called, return at the appropriate time. Again, people are waiting on you to get back to the keyboard.

Be prepared.

I don’t care if you weren’t a Boy Scout. The fights are out there. Watch them, read them. Your class forums are out there. Learn about them. Have questions? Ask them. Need gems and enchants? Take care of it before the raid starts, not after the first pull. Be repaired and have cash on hand to repair as you wipe. Have your reagents/food/flasks/etc.

Be there.

Ever hear of the FISH! philosophy?

One of its tenants is to be present, wherever you are. This doesn’t mean warm body in chair. It means being an active participant, listening to what is happening, paying attention, and contributing.

If you are multitasking in a raid, you are not there. You are letting your raid members down. They set aside the time to spend with you working on a common goal, the least you can do is to return the favor and be there for them.

If your schedule doesn’t allow you to set aside time to raid, you might need to stop raiding or find a raiding group that is willing to be flexible with constant /afks. There is a rhythm to a raid’s progress for the evening. Too many stalls and the engine dies.

With scheduled raids, there really isn’t an excuse to be gone during the raid (short of an emergency, cats and kids are flammable, life happens). You know when the raid starts. You have a good idea of when the raid will end. Plan activities accordingly. And for fuck’s sake, take a piss before the raid starts.

Keep your cool.

Guess what? Sometimes we’re going to wipe. In progression, we’re going to wipe a lot. If you don’t like failure, don’t join a progression raid. When a wipe happens, release and run back with the rest of them. If you messed up, ‘fess up. Leave the finger pointing to the officers, we’ll take care of it in private channels.

Follow directions.

If the raid leader calls for a target swap you had best switch to your assigned target. I don’t care if your DPS is over 9000 if you’re on the wrong fucking target.

I happen to be decent at target swaps. I HAVE to be because I’m the raid leader and calling them out. I use my own percentage of damage to adds as a baseline for the others assigned to adds. I do take into consideration things like ramp up requirements for different classes/specs, but no one should be radically behind me on percent of damage to adds.

If I see that you fail to switch to adds, I will call out a general reminder of the assignments. Happens a second time, I will whisper you directly. A third time and I will call you out in public.

Find your problems and fix them.

I have an issue with right and left. Makes the Thaddius fight a little interesting. I (still) have a plus and minus sticky on each side of my monitor as a reminder of which way I’m supposed to go. If you have a problem with a mechanic or a direction, find a way to fix it. If you need help, talk to someone that can do it well and find out their solutions.

If you have problems with your DoTs or cooldowns or anything like that, look into the appropriate tools ot help you manage them.

Get your thick skin on.

In my raids at least, no one is intentionally being mean or rude when delivering orders. But yes, they are orders. “Get your ass out of the fire NAO!” is not a suggestion. It’s something that shouldn’t have even needed to be said in the first place. You got caught, you got called out. Don’t do it again.

When all is said and done and either the boss is dead or we are, we can discuss what happened and what needs to happen next time in a more calm, relaxed fashion.

Get out of the back seat.

If you have something useful to contribute to the strategy, by all means, present it to the raid leader. But do not challenge the raid leader’s decision or whine about your assignment. If you have an issue, take it up in proper channels after the fight.

Be in it for the long haul.

In our guild, raids have a scheduled end time. We only go past that time if everyone can stay without issues. If you know you can’t make it to the end of a scheduled raid, don’t sign up. When you sign up for a raid, it tells the raid leader that you will be available from time X through time Y. If you’re not available past Y, it’s all good. But you had best be available until Y.

If you want to be considered for the raid and you can’t stay the full duration, talk it over with the raid leader. Maybe you’ll luck out and someone else will be available to fill in the gap. But be prepared for priority to be given to someone that can stay for the full run.

…

TL;DR

• A commitment is a commitment.
• Manners are manners.
• Agreeing to participate in a raid really isn’t any different than agreeing to any other group activity. People are counting on you to show up. Don’t use an excuse to bail that you wouldn’t use if it was an in-person meeting.